North Korea stoked its feud with the U.S. Friday, warning that it could respond to American military threats by testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.The warning came hours after leader Kim Jong-un said the U.S. would “pay dearly” for President Donald Trump’s threat to “totally destroy North Korea” during a speech at the United Nations earlier this week.Speaking to reporters in New York, the North Korean Foreign Minister, who will address the UN Friday, said the North could retaliate with “the most powerful detonation of an H-bomb in the Pacific.”Ri Yong-ho added that he didn’t know Pyongyang’s exact thoughts on the matter, as “it will be ordered by leader Kim Jong-un.”In an earlier televised address, Kim said the regime would retaliate with the “highest level of hardline countermeasure in history.”Should North Korea decide to carry out an ocean test, it would be the first nuclear detonation by the regime beyond its own borders, a move certain to further destabilize the region.Kim also used his rare national speech to personally attacked President Trump, calling him a “mentally deranged dotard,” while decrying his UN speech as “unprecedented rude nonsense.”Kim’s remarks came shortly after the White House announced a fresh round of sanctions targeting North Korean banking.
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